You’re showing up to every physio session. You’re ticking every box. Doing the exercises. Following the plan. But for some reason… you’re still not getting better. And it’s driving you mad.
You start to question yourself. Is my injury worse than I thought? Am I just not trying hard enough? Do I need more rehab?
Here’s the part no one’s told you: healing doesn’t happen in the session. It happens in the hours and days after. That’s when your body rebuilds tissue, adapts to the load, and actually makes progress.
And to do that? It needs fuel.
Rehab Sends the Signal. Recovery Creates the Result.
Your rehab session gives your body the stimulus it needs. It loads the injured tissue, rebuilds strength, and helps restore movement. But exercises aren’t magic; they create a controlled stress that tells your body, “It’s time to repair.” That repair doesn’t happen during the session. It happens after, when you're resting and fuelling.
If you’re not supporting that process properly, the signal never becomes a result. It’s like trying to build a house with no materials. You’ve got the plan, the workers, the tools, but no bricks. So nothing gets built.
Recovery Demands More Than Just Rest
To adapt and heal, your body needs:
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Protein to rebuild tissue
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Carbs to fuel the process
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Calories to provide energy for inflammation, cell repair, and regrowth
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Rest and sleep to allow those repairs to actually happen
The Biggest Rehab Nutrition Mistake
Most people eat less during injury. And that’s a problem.
You’re not training as much, so it makes sense, right? Less movement means less food?
Not exactly.
Injury recovery isn’t a time of “low demand.” It’s a time of different demand. Your body may not be squatting or sprinting, but it’s doing something just as taxing: healing. And healing is metabolically expensive.
What Happens When You Under-Fuel
When you cut food intake during rehab, here’s what can happen:
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Progress stalls
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Energy crashes
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Mood dips
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Sleep suffers
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Cravings spike
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You lose muscle instead of rebuilding it
If you’re constantly tired, struggling with rehab, or just feel off, you might be under-fuelling without realising it.
How to Support Your Recovery With Food
You don’t need a perfect plan, just consistency. Here’s how:
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Eat regularly: 3 solid meals and a couple of snacks a day. Don’t skip breakfast; it sets the tone.
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Add protein to every meal: Chicken, eggs, yoghurt, tofu; this helps your body rebuild tissue.
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Don’t cut carbs: Rehab still requires energy. Carbs like rice, oats, fruit, and bread help keep you going.
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Eat around your sessions: A meal 1–2 hours before, and a protein + carb snack after will help performance and recovery.
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Hydrate well: Even mild dehydration can slow healing and make rehab feel harder.
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Listen to your body: Hunger, fatigue, mood swings; these are signals, not annoyances.
The Bottom Line: You Can’t Out-Rehab Poor Recovery
Rehab isn’t just about what you do in the clinic. It’s about what you do between sessions. Without the right fuel, your body can’t do its job, even if you’re showing up and working hard.
Give it what it needs. Support the process. And watch the progress finally start to happen.
